We have experienced a vibrant real estate market throughout 2009! We currently have 79 homes available for sale ranging in price from a 4 bedroom 4 bath with 4,099 square feet priced at $ 550,000 to a home on 10 acres for $90,000!

In the pending listings we have 20 homes waiting to close. These homes range in price from a 4 bedroom 3 bath with 3,187 square feet priced at $322,000 to a 3 bedroom 1 bath with a list price of $90,000.

Our sold / closed properties in the last 180 days were a strong 128 homes! These homes were priced from $635,000 to $67,500!

We have had a very strong year and 2010 promises to be just as strong. We have the first time home buyer credit of up to $8,000 that has been extended through April 30, 2010. These are homes that are sold / closed after January 01, 2010. We also have the added incentive of $6,500 for any buyer who is selling a home they have lived in for at least 5 years and purchasing a new home. The deadline for this tax incentive is also April 30, 2010. For great additional information on these credits you can go to: federalhousingtaxcredit.com

Realtor’s continue to watch the movement to extend the credit through April 30^th of 2010. The US Senate has passed the extension of the credit & it looks likely that this will become law before the November 30, 2009 deadline expires.

Be sure to contact your Realtor about getting qualified for a mortgage and finding a new home as soon as you can.  This possible extension of the credit should give buyer’s who were not able to find and close on a home prior to 11/30/09 new hope. There is no better time to get out there and find a home than right now!  Home prices are stable, interest rates are low & buyer’s will have the added bonus of being able to deduct their interest on their mortgage if they itemize!  It is a win win!

Choctaw and the Oklahoma City Metro area was just ranked #3 in the best places to start over in the United States!  We have a lower than the national average unemployment figure and we continue to be one of the best values in housing nationally

Our housing market is experiencing tremendous activity in the under 200K price range.  If a seller meets with their Realtor and prices their property based on true comparable sold / closed properties their home will not be on the market longer than 90 day’s from start to closing of the transaction.  Sellers need to be ready to move when they list their homes because there is a high likelihood that will be moving in no time!

Time is running out to find your home & take advantage of this credit. If you are still on the fence don’t wait. You need to be under contract no later than 10/25/09. It currently takes approximately 30 days for a buyer to close on a home. With the new disclosure regulations in lending buyers need to give themselves a few extra days to close.

Buyers need to make sure that the Realtor they are working with is showing them homes that can qualify for the type of financing they have been approved for. Most 1^st time home buyers are seeking FHA financing. This type of financing does not work for homes that need lots of repairs and or replacements. Buyers because of this November time frame looming so close, have to be looking at homes in reasonably good shape to avoid having renegotiations over lender repair requirements that could eat up valuable time. You don’t want repairs to be the reason that the closing date is pushed past the November deadline!

Remember the 30^th of November is the current cut off date. There has been talk about extending & expanding this credit but nothing has been signed into law. Therefore you need to be out actively seeking a home to purchase with a closing date in your contract of not later than November 30, 2009. That is the very last day that a buyer can close and still qualify for the up to $8,000.00 tax credit.

THE CLOCK IS TICKING!

First time home buyers and those that haven’t owned a  home in the last 3 years are scooping up the inventory of available properties.  Many homes are only resting in the Active Available listing status for less than a week!  Many sellers are complaining in a nice way, that they have barely adjusted to having their homes on the market when a contract comes in!! This is a great problem to have, don’t you agree!!

With the November 30^th cut off date looming to qualify for the tax credit it is HOT HOT HOT out there.  Many of my Realtor colleagues have been working with out a day off for the last several weeks!! This is really great news for Realtors, Seller’s and Buyers!

Remember with the recent changes in regulations regarding appraisals, you need to give yourself at least a 40-45 window to close.  Keep this in mind and get out there and find your first home NOW!

Good news from Zillow.com.  They have announced today that the OKC metro is in the TOP 5 areas for housing sales in the United States!!! We have kept or increased our home values here.  This is great news for everyone!  We Realtors have noticed a strong surge in sales  with out a reduction of the SOLD price per square foot.  It is wonderful to have what we have witnessed first had become national news!

First time home buyer’s and those that have not owned a home in the last 3 years are really making the most of the Federal First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit!  Several buyer’s that I have been working with are not only going to benefit from the tax credit but also local cities grants and state bond money.  What a remarkable year this will be for these home buyer’s.  One in particular is going to receive $7,500 from the tax credit and an additional $5,000 from the city grant!  This first time home buyer is the beneficiary of $12,500 dollars in real money!

If you have been waiting for some reason to purchase your first home or haven’t owned your own home in the last 3 years, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?  Get out there and find a great Realtor who will help you find a home that will work for you.  Do this before the deadline of November 30, 2009.  You must close on the house by the 11/30/09 deadline.  Your Realtor will tell you that you need to be under contract for this home no later than September 15^th to insure that you do not miss this deadline.

In the last several day’s there has been discussion among the Feds about opening up the Federal First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit to include ALL home buyers, not just those who have not owned a home in the last 3 years. Several news outlets have ran stories regarding this.

There has been a push with several lawmakers to extend the tax credit to ALL buyers.  These lawmakers are in touch with active Realtors in their home areas who have told them that there is no shortage of first time home buyers at this point.  Where there is a real deficiency of buyers is in the Move Up sector.  We have also found this to be true in Oklahoma but not to the same degree as other parts of the U.S.   There are several     incarnations of extending the credit being discussed on Capital. Hill.

One such expansion bill would increase the credit to $15,000.00 and would include ALL buyers.  It would expire one year after the bill is voted into law.  The current tax credit expires after Nov. 30^th 2009. Remember if you are a first time home buyer that has not yet found a home, don’t wait.  Under the current deadline you must close on your home prior to December 1, 2009 in order to benefit.  Don’t let the opportunity pass you by.

Stay tuned if you are a home seller who is moving on to a new or re-sale home purchase.  You may very well be able to benefit from this expansion.. Keep an eye on future financial news for updates on this proposed expansion.  You can also contact your trusted Realtor or lender for more information.

There has been some confusion on the use of the tax credit. Currently most lenders in the Oklahoma City metro area are shying away from mentioning that first time home buyer’s can use the “tax credit” buyer incentive for up front closing costs on their loan . The Obama administration has been vocal on the credit being available towards the 2009 tax due for buyers but has remained silent on any other use of this credit. Some 14 state agencies have initiated a second mortgage short term loan for buyer’s to access the money early. Buyer’s need to make sure that what ever program they are committing to is tax compliant for their particular situation.

One thing that you must definitely keep in mind is that the time frames for purchasing your home are Jan.1 – Dec. 1. If you haven’t started the process of purchasing your home you need to get started now! Contact a Realtor, meet with a lender and get yourself pre-approved for your mortgage. Then start looking for your home. Don’t wait until the last minute to begin this process.

For more information I have attached a link to the federalhousingtaxcredit.com website that is a website of the National Association of Home Builders. You will find that this website is full of great information on the tax credits ins and outs. HAPPY HOUSE HUNTING!!!

FIRST TIME HOME BUYER’S

The process should begin with a visit with your potential lender. Knowing what price range of home and what type of loan you will be needing is essential in the search for a first home. In fact you will need to know what type of loan you will be seeking prior to writing an offer on a Oklahoma Real Estate Commission approved contract. It will also keep you from looking at homes that are not in your price range or in the type of condition that your loan requires. Meeting with a lender prior to your search & securing a pre-approval letter will place you ahead of the other buyer’s that are looking in your particular price range. Remember that there are many more buyer’s in the first time home buyer price range than there are available homes.

Once you have determined what price range of home you will be looking for you need to select a Realtor to work with. Many buyer’s are under the misconception that they can beat the system by calling every Realtor in town and not committing to working with one.

This really in all honesty will hurt the buyer in the long run. Realtors who are working with buyer’s are constantly looking for a home that meets their buyer’s requirements. They will be doing the leg work for the buyer and will contact them when a suitable property hits the market. The Realtor working with the buyer is an invaluable source of information to the buyer. Do yourself a favor and work with one Realtor in the process.

Many first time buyer’s feel that they have to take a caravan of people out to look with them. You should think carefully about this prior to inviting your family and friends to go along with you. Over the 18 years that I have been a Realtor I have seen this be problematic. A buyer can have their heart set on a particular style of home and the friend or relative has a completely different attitude. The buyer is a first time buyer and the friend or relative is insisting that they find and purchase a home in new construction condition and style for the price that the first time home buyer can afford. This rarely happens as there is generally some compromise for a buyer’s first home. Once a buyer has found a home then they can invite their relative or friend to come and see it on a future visit.